Guess Who's Leading Job Creation? It's Michigan

It's 2010, and this is a real story. Michigan is leading all states in job creation, with 27,000 jobs created in July. That's only a thousand jobs less than the next two job-creators -- D.C. and Massachusetts -- combined.

What does this teach us? I can think of two things. First, it's fitting that Michigan's biggest gainer was manufacturing. Companies that produce things that other countries want to buy are relatively strong because those countries are stronger relative to the U.S. consumer. As Daniel Gross put it, it's the "businesses that are connected to trade, to the global economy, and to business services."

Second, it's fairly remarkable that Washington, D.C., a city, is leading all non-Michigan states in job creation. It's just another indication of how industries and metro areas with ties to government -- from state capitals, to military towns, to eds and meds cities -- are among the only areas experiencing a true recovery.

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Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, labor markets, and the media. He is the author of Hit Makers.